Friday, January 22, 2010

Thai Pineapple Curry

Thai is by far one of our favorite cuisines. Among Thai dishes, curries take the cake. The heat, the sweet, and the creamy coconut milk combine to create a veritable party in your mouth. This pineapple curry is one of our favorite Thai dishes. We like this one so much it was even our Thanksgiving meal this year. You'll recall that we were in Hawaii for Thanksgiving, so our curry was made with the freshest, sweetest, juiciest pineapple you can imagine. While Hawaiian pineapple made for a delectable curry, this one is just as delicious, right here in middle American, even in the depths of winter. I recommend that you use a fresh pineapple, but if none are to be found a can of pineapple will do the trick.

If you've never worked with fresh pineapple before it can seem quite intimidating. In reality, it couldn't be easier to work it. Here are a few tips to help you choose and use your pineapple. To choose the ripest pineapple begin by plucking a few leaves off the top. If the leaves give you little to no resistance the pineapple is ripe. Take it home and use within a few days. Store in the refrigerator if you don't plan to use it for awhile. If the leaves resist your pull or don't come off at all, your pineapple is not ripe. Take it home, leave it on the counter, have some patience and it will ripen with time. To use your pineapple, begin by cutting a small slice off the bottom of the fruit. Immediately set the pineapple upright to allow the sweet juices to be reabsorbed into the fruit. After allowing the fruit to sit for a few minutes cut the top off (you can save this leafy top, plant it in soil and grow your own pineapple if you like). Next, cut the fruit in quarters lengthwise. This will leave you with four triangular shaped pieces of fruit. To remove the core simply run your knife down the pointy corner of the triangle. Use your knife to cut away the skin, then cut into bite sized or smaller chunks.

Thai Pineapple Curry

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1 package extra firm tofu, well pressed and cubed

1 yellow onion, sliced in half moons

1 small fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized chunks

1 Tbs Thai red curry paste (adjust according to taste)

1 can coconut milk

2 Tbs light brown sugar

2 Tbs tamari or soy sauce

Juice of one lime

1/4 cup cilantro leaves or basil leaves, chopped

Crushed red pepper flake to garnish

In a large saucepan or skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add tofu and saute until brown on all sides. Add onion and continue to saute until softened. Add pineapple and saute a few minutes more to release juices. Move contents of skillet to edges and add curry paste. Let curry paste warm for a minute or two, then slowly pour coconut milk into skillet, whisking in curry paste as you pour. Add sugar, tamari, and lime juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer covered 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro. Serve over steamed brown basmati rice and sprinkle with red pepper flake.

Thai red curry paste does not have fish sauce in it. Ingredients are red chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, salt, shallot and kaffir lime. And in fact, says on the bottle in bold, red, all caps VEGAN.

Original Red Curry paste has sun dried shrimp in it or sun dried shrimp paste or even fish sauce, so if you're vegan read the label carefully before buying :)

@Carrie, next time you feel like being rude to someone simply for pointing out facts, do your homework before saying things like "Thai red curry paste does not have fish sauce in it." cause it makes you sound ignorant, even if you have the vegan version of the ingredient, cause you actually didn't state it in the ingredients list and it's misleading for those who don't know better, have a nice day!